With the winter season here and the closing of an eventful year it is easy to imagine oneself in a secluded cabin surrounded by nature. Kindle Living reminds us of unforgettable experiences celebrating the relationship between humans, structure and landscape. Allow this blog entry to capture your senses and take you back to that moment when you found yourself reconnecting with beautiful surroundings. – DISD – Read More –

The holidays are here, so why not take advantage of some of Design Institute’s recommendations for the best gifts of the year? Here are our picks for the top holiday gifts for interior designers, architects and creative individuals.

James Turrell, modern day master of light and space, has been working with colored light and space for nearly 50 years. His extensive training in perceptual psychology has made him an expert in the field, and he has work all over the world illustrating the power light has on the human condition. His art has received multiple awards and recognition internationally and he remains one of the most respected artists of the century. “I make spaces that apprehend light for our perception, and in some ways gather it, or seem to hold it…my work is more about your seeing than it is about my seeing, although it is a product of my seeing.”- James Turrell – Read More –

By: Rick Hess, DISD

Ever wonder how interior designers and architects create an open and spacious feel in an extremely small footprint? Architecture firm Specht Harpman managed to do just that in a 425 square foot Manhattan micro-loft, located in the city’s Upper West Side. Making use of every available square inch, their thoughtful design solution transforms the original space from one with no room for furniture into a functional and attractive home. – Read More –

LEDs, or Light Emitting Diodes, have become extremely popular around the world, providing thousands of life hours, lower electrical costs and an array of colors and brightness that CFLs (Compact Fluorescent Lights) just can’t compete with. BlueBulb recently introduced the Bluetooth Bulb, a light bulb that has over one million color variations controlled by an iPad or iPhone via Bluetooth. “It’s face-to-face communication,” BlueBulb CEO and founder Peter Lakits told AppleInsider, explaining why the firm chose to go with Bluetooth. “The phone is always with you, even in your bed.” – Read More –

LivingHomes has introduced a new design for a prefabricated, affordable and sustainable home costing half the price of their previous models. The new C6 series was “designed by LivingHomes staff in collaboration with Make It Right, a nonprofit founded by Brad Pitt and architect William McDonough to build 150 affordable, sustainable homes in New Orleans’ Lower Ninth Ward,” according to their website. The C6 is the first LivingHome design to meet both Energy Star and LEED Platinum certification requirements. – Read More –

According to Google’s online dictionary concrete is “A heavy, rough building material made from a mixture of broken stone or gravel, sand, cement, and water, which can be spread or poured.” With today’s technology concrete can now also be described as “light” and “transparent.” A number of companies are introducing translucent concrete, an innovative building material that allows light to penetrate its dense surface, thereby revolutionizing the way concrete is used today. It changes the history of concrete as we know it and alters a mix that has been used for thousands of years. After much experimentation, the product can now be seen in architectural and interior environments.– Read More –

Lumion recently released a new version of its sophisticated software, allowing architects and interior designers to provide photorealistic renderings to their clients. Lumion 3.0 allows users to create cutting-edge, high-definition renderings and videos in a matter of minutes. The intuitive user interface makes it easy to learn, and the latest version offers a number of significant new features that enhance the virtual environment. – Read More –